Interlocking poker chip



oc 14, 1947. 'P. FRIEDMAN 2,429,020

INTERLOCKING POKERCHIP Filed Jan. 8, 1945 Patented Oct. 14, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEv INTERLOCKING POKER CHIP Philip Friedman, Los Angeles, Calif. Application January 8, 1945, Serial No. 571,860

3 Claims.

My invention relates to poker chips and has particular reference to a poker chip, the upper and lower surfaces of which are so designed as to interlock with each other to prevent lateral displacement of one chip relative to each other when stacked one upon the other.

Poker chips of conventional design are usually provided with certain configurations upon their upper and lower surfaces, but when they are stacked one upon the other, they may be readily displaced laterally relative to each other, with the result that a stack of chips rarely, if ever, remains in a truly vertical stack.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a poker chip in which the upper and lower surfaces of the chip are designed with interlocking configurations which, when stacked one upon the other, will hold the chips in vertical alignment against inadvertent lateral displacement one from the other.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a poker chip of the character described wherein the interlocking surfaces formed upon the surfaces of the poker chips are so designed as to insure the true vertical stacking of the chips one upon the other.

Another object of my invention is to provide a poker chip, the upper and lower surfaces of which are provided with interlocking projections and depressions which, when the chips are stacked one upon the other, so interfit as to hold the chips in vertical alignment against inadvertent lateral displacement.

It is an additional object of my invention to provide a poker chip of the character described in which the upper and lower surfaces of the chips are of substantially identical design, whereby projections appearing upon the lower surface of one of the chips is adapted to be received readily into depressions formed upon the upper surface of the next lower chip to hold the chips in vertical alignment with each other.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a study of the following specifications, read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a poker chip constructed in accordance withmy invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the poker chip shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating the alternate projections and depressions formed upon the surface of the chip; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated in Fig. 1 a poker chip which maybe of the conventional size comprising a relatively flat disk I of suitable diameter, the central portion of which is provided with a substantially circular depression 2 surrounded by a plurality of bands 3, 4 and 5 of projections and depressions formed upon both the upper and lower surfaces of the chips adapted to fit upon and interlock with corresponding depressions and projections upon the exposed surface of the next chip upon which it may be stacked.

By referring particularly to Fig. 3, it will be observed that the band 3 comprises a plurality of alternate projections 6 and depressions I, the lengths of which are identical with each other so that the innermost line B of the depressions are concentric with the center of the chip 1. Likewise, the band 4 comprises alternate projections 9 and depressions Ill, the lengths of which are identical with each other so that the inner ends I l of the projections are concentric with the center of the chip as are the outer ends of the projections l2.

Similarly, the outer band 5 includes alternate projections l3 and depressions M of corresponding lengths to extend from the concentric line I2 to the exterior l5 of the chip. While I have illustrated three sets of bands of alternate depressions and projections, it will be apparent that the purposes of my invention and the spirit thereof will be equally satisfied with a greater or lesser number of bands and with projections and depressions having configurations of considerably different shape from those illustrated herein.

The particular projections and depressions illustrated herein comprise radially extending segments, the sides of which are formed upon radii extending from the center of the chip, but again as pointed out above, the particular shape of the projections and depressions may be varied as desired so long as the upper and lower surfaces of each of the chips are provided with alternate corresponding depressions and projections adapted to interfit with each other when the chips are stacked one upon the other.

The particular configurations shown in Figs, 3 and 4 are particularly desirable from the standpoint of ease in stacking the chips, the projections :3 having their side edges beveled as indicated at Hi to meet the plane of the base of the depressions I4 so that when the chips are stacked one upon the other, the beveled surfaces cause the projections to interfit with the depressions of the under surface of the next higher chip, while, as indicated in Fig. 4, the projections l3 are disposed immediately above depressions M formed upon the lower surface of the chip, whereby all that is necessary is to lay the chips one upon the other and rotate the same about the center of the chip until the projections extending from the lower surface of the uppermost chip fall into the depressions formed upon the next lower-- most chip, the beveled surfaces aiding in the guiding of the projections and depressions into interfitting relation with each other,

However, by forming the ends of the projections of each band upon a line which is concentric with the center of the chip, there will be a positive line of interfitting which will cause the chips to lie concentrically one upon the other,

this concentric line preventing any staggering of the chips as they are piled one upon the other and insuring that a pile of chips, with the depressions and projections inter-engaged, will present a truly vertically aligned stack of chips without any staggering therebetween.

The particular form of chip shown herein may be readily formed of plastic, cardboard or other suitable material which may be pressed into the desired shape and configuration to provide the alternating projections and depressions upon both the upper and the lower surfaces of the chips, and the configuration of the projections and depressions is such as not to interfere with the normal use of the chips in play.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to any of the details of construction shown or described herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A poker chip comprising: a plane circular poker chip body having provided upon its plane surfaces a plurality of annular bands of alternating projections and depressions extending concentrically about the chip, each of said projections and depressions being shaped as a segment of an annulus, the center of which is the center of the chip, the projections of each band being radially aligned with the depressions of adjacent bands, whereby the interfitting of the corresponding projections on the lower side of one chip with the depressions in the upper side of the next lower chip will hold the same in alignment with each other against radial displacement relative to each other and hold the successive chips in vertical alignment with each other.

2. A poker chip comprising: a plane circular poker chip body having provided upon its plane surfaces a plurality of annular bands of alternating projections and depressions extending concentrically about the chip, each of said projections and depressions being shaped as a segment of an annulus, the center of which is the center of the chip, the projections of each band being radially aligned with the depressions of adjacent bands, the side walls of each of the depressions and projections being beveled to guide the projections of one chip into the depressions of the next succeeding chip, whereby the nesting of the projections and depressions will hold a pile of chips stacked one upon the other against lateral displacement relative to each other.

3. A poker chip comprising: a plane circular poker chip body having provided upon its plane surfaces a plurality of annular bands of alternating projections and depressions extending concentrically about the chip, each of said projections and depressions being shaped as a segment of an annulus, the center of which is the center of the chip, the projections of each band being radially aligned with the depressions of adjacent bands, the side walls of each of the depressions and projections being beveled to guide the projections of one chip into the depressions of the next succeeding chip, the angular span of said beveled side walls being comparable to the angular span of the tops and bottoms of said projections and depressions, respectively, whereby the inter-engagement of said beveled side walls produces a gravity induced rotation of said chips to positions nesting said projections and depressions, and whereby the nesting of the projections and depressions will hold a pile of chips stacked one upon the other against lateral displacement relative to each other.

PHILIP FRIEDMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,009,468 Burrowes Nov. 11, 1911 1,935,308 Baltzley Nov. 14, 1933 1,455,289 Heene May 15, 1923 

